#the batmobile in the background is killing me

[erinwantstowrite]

leaked leap of faith spoilers (REAL!!!)

AND THE MULTIVERSE EXPANDS ‼️

[celaenaeiln]

What do you think will happen if Batman!Bruce, Owlman!Thomas Wayne Jr and Batman!Thomas Wayne (are there other versions of Thomas Wayne aside just his civie? Similar to batman!Thomas?)

Bonus if the Dick Grayson is in one corner, along with Earth-3!Dick Grayson (and a version of Dick if Batman!Thomas or a version of TW has one) just watching

oh!!!

Of course Thomas Wayne has his very own Dick Grayson! It's canon for every batman to have a Dick Grayson! He actually dies to save his Dick which means a lot because Thomas Wayne!Batman is a cold, callous Batman who cares about nothing besides his own family.

Convergence Issue #4

"Your Batman. He died protecting you. Or trying to. The bond between you and Bruce Wayne echoes in every reality."

-And that's coming from a multiuniversal artificially forged god.

But putting the three version of Batman in a room together? Chaos. Pure and absolute chaos. First between the three of them, Thomas Wayne Jr would immediately try to kill Bruce. No doubt it's kill at first sight and Bruce after the Forever Evil crisis would try to punch the life out of his alternate world brother. Now Thomas Sr actually gives a damn about his family so he would punch both of his sons and talk to them about how they're family without sounding lovey-dovey because he's a hardened old man.

About Dick though, Thomas Jr would never forgive Bruce. He would think Bruce doesn't appreciate Dick enough, and he's wasting Dick's talents. His heart would eat itself out with jealousy and hatred that Bruce's Dick is still alive and healthy but his gone. Bruce, who has nearly lost his son and was perfectly willing to let the world die if it meant getting Dick out of that death trap in forever evil, is not going to take such an insult lying down. He would boast about how Dick is the best person he knows and throw the fact that his Dick is still alive back into Owlman's face which would enrage him even more.

Thomas Sr is quietly watching all of this unfold, occasionally making derogatory comments about how his two sons should be working together, not breaking up the family for Grayson to which Thomas Jr would reply that he is perfectly willing to take his father's version of his counterpart off his hands. Now his father would be dragged fists first into the fight cause - hey. Dick's his family now too. And the man's possessive over his only remaining family.

The three Dicks are standing in the corner just watching all this play out. Bruce's would crack jokes and express concerns about everything that's happening while Owlman's would snort and make some demeaning comment. Probably towards Owlman depending on if he's been revived. Thomas Sr's is the oldest and would worry about how the heck this all happened and how his pair was going to get back and "hey, can I drive the Batmobile now?"

That question would set of a series of complaints from the other two and the Dicks would just bond over how terrible their Batman/Owlman is.

"Can you believe it? He told me I had to choose between him and the Titans!" and "You think that's bad?! Mine killed my parents to get to me!" and "Seriously? At least the worst mine did was tell me to sit down and not touch anything. Like I was some kind of sidekick. The nerve of that grumpy old man."

"Wait, yours too?!"

"Wait, yours too?!"

This whole thing becomes international news and then a crisis when Nighwing!Dick uploads a cute selfie of the three of them holding ice cream which people find cute and swoon over before they notice that in the background there's a blurred out version of two batmen? and a feathery guy? The media instantly picks up on it cause Nightwing posting anything is a Big Deal especially since he never posts stuff and because he's so popular. The hero community finds out and it's instant panic mode because Forever Evil pt.2?! The Batfamily and Titans are zipping back to Gotham faster than a speedster because WTF DICK? HELLO, TALON AND OWLMAN ALERT?! AND YOU DECIDED TO NOTIFY US THROUGH A SELFIE?

Bruce, Thomas Jr, and Thomas Sr are blissfully unaware of the avalanche of conspiracy theories, government actions, and the 50 different rescue ops by heroes that their counterparts have accidentally unleashed with their single internet selfie. They're too busy punching others' lights out while the people who started the international crisis peacefully enjoy their triple scoop chocolate chip, birthday cake, cookie dough ice cream with chocolate drizzle, extra sprinkles, and a cherry on top.

[one-bat-day]

This pic always kills me because 1. Why does Jason look like that. 2. Why is there a super S in the background???? 3. Why is the Batmobile there 4. Why does Jason look like that.

[sing-me-under]

I find the basic fandom tropes for the BatKids to be so boring. I think it’s just me, but they’re like… really stale. Like old bread. Not even the good kind of old bread that you can make croutons with.

My takes under the cut:

Trope: Jason was abused by his dad and neglected by his mother then was homeless on the streets for a period of time.

I like his original (post-crisis) background where his mom had cancer and took drugs to deal with the pain and where his dad tried so hard to provide for him and Catherine, resorting to illegal means, then getting sent to jail then killed very shortly after being released before he could return home. That’s an interesting and complex relationship with his parents. Jason loved his parents. He had no frame of reference for parents who don’t love their children because otherwise he wouldn’t have trusted Sheila Haywood so easily.

Furthermore, I imagine he grew up in a very tight-knit and supportive community. In his introduction (post-crisis), he stashes the Batmobile tires in his apartment. It’s clearly his based on the personalization. I imagine that after his mom died (in the hospital), social services never came for him, effectively being abandoned by the system, but his neighbors provided what little support they could offer simply by not chasing him away and looking over him staying in the single room flat. He had one neighbor who even held onto his legal records for years after, waiting to give it to the rightful owner. Jason fended for himself by fencing off tires and probably other things, but he has a faith in people that only started to wane after becoming Robin.

Trope: Tim was criminally neglected by his parents and they emotionally abused him.

Rich people do have a tendency to just throw their children into the most convenient boarding school and rarely interact with their children. Oftentimes, they have kids out of social obligation. But Tim’s parents did love him. They were distant and often focused on their own work and hobbies, but they proved they cared about him enough. Jack had his flaws but he did genuinely care about Tim’s wellbeing. Also, I can never get over the issue of Tim meeting his mom again just talking to her and Janet listening supportively. I like the idea that they used to take Tim with them everywhere when he was younger and only put him in boarding school at a later age in order to socialize. They trusted that the school was taking care of him (even if Tim did escape quite frequently to be Robin). It’s such a damn shame that Janet died so early into Tim’s tenure as Robin. I wish I could have gotten a better characterization of her in like No Man’s Land or something. Or just Tim being a proper corporate heir to Drake Industries for longer instead of being mildly upper middle class with a comatose-then-emotionally distant father before becoming the Wayne heir.

I feel like Jack Drake is like the epitome of the “father is for emotional distance” meme. He’s well-meaning, but he’s still a man of the patriarchy.

Trope: Stephanie is from a family reminiscent to Jason’s.

I have no idea where the fuck this characterization came from. Like. Have they never even READ Steph’s wiki? Did they just go “Jason but female and waffles and purple”??? Arthur Brown was a host to a game show that was popular enough to feature celebrities and the rich and famous. His whole villain origin is that he hates the stupidity of the rich, and he ended up blowing up on TV. The scandal got him unemployed and he resorted to theft to make ends meet after. Later on, he became a strategic criminal adviser or something. Cluemaster eventually got caught and put into the Suicice Squad, eventually dying. Meanwhile, Crystal Brown is an overworked nurse who takes extra shifts to make ends meet. She’s basically a single mom at this point. I think she gets addicted to something in order to get by and goes into rehab at some point after Steph’s death. Steph loves her mom and has very complicated feelings about her dad. When she was pregnant, she feared that Cluemaster would harm her baby in order to get to her.

Anyway, the whole point of this is that my perception of Steph is that she was raised solidly middle class. She’s from the Bowery, not Crime Alley. Her parents used to send her to gymnastics classes, and she was very good. They took her out after Arthur was unemployed.

[isfjmel-phleg]

I've done one of these for the YJ kids already, so how about first lines: Robins edition?

Dick: Detective Comics #38

"Mother! Father! T-they'll be killed!"

Dick's first appearance in a very early (1940!) comic opens by narrating his backstory, and the first words we hear from him are his response to the fall that will result in his parents' deaths. While this line doesn't tell us much about who Dick is as an individual, it does define him an orphan due to tragedy and therefore a parallel to Bruce.

Jason: Detective Comics #525

"Golly! There's somebody up at the top of the tent--it's Robin!"

Yes, this is actually Jason. Pre-Crisis Jason, with the circus background and red hair, which would later have to dyed black. This version of the character was designed to be basically Dick 2.0, so it's only fitting that his first words should be about Robin, connecting him to his predecessor and foreshadowing the role he will take on. Note that these words are thought, not spoken aloud. His first spoken words are in a similar vein:

"Hey, are you really Robin?"

Post-Crisis Jason, the version that's become the more lasting take on the character, would appear in Batman #408.

"Whoops."

A very different take! This Jason's first line is just a single word, but it expresses who he is succinctly. He has a tremendous amount of nerve to steal the Batmobile's tires, but at the same time he's a scared little boy who has just realized that he's made a huge mistake.

Tim: Batman #436 (already addressed in this post but I'm repeating it for completion's sake)

"Won...wonner...wonnerful."

This is a flashback to a very young Tim. The first time we hear from him in the story's present is in #440.

"He [Batman] was hurt, but that didn't stop him. Nothing stops him. So much for Bruce Wayne. Now I can start on Dick Grayson."

Both of these first lines have a commonality: Tim is commenting with admiration about somebody else. His feelings and goals are not relevant; he is here to observe and, from a distance, support. This places him in a particular role from the start. His words in #440 aren't even spoken aloud, which establishes his contemplative nature. His very first words not only foreshadow his role as the Boy Wonder but also tie him to Dick, which was important for the creators of his character, who wanted the new Robin to maintain a connection to the original Robin to make him more acceptable to the audience (post-Crisis Jason had developed a personality very different from Dick's, which made him unpopular with much of the audience). And finally we learn that he, this mysterious unseen figure, somehow knows Batman's and Nightwing's secret identities, which is worrisome!

Stephanie: Detective Comics #647

"Huh? Mom! You scared me! I thought you were in bed. ... Yeah. It's like a report. For math."

Stephanie's first appearance is silent, observing her father's doings at home on TV or spying on him as Spoiler. Her first lines are to her mother, who catches her in the process of putting together the answer to her father's "clues" before sending them to the police in order to spoil his plans. Our first impression of Stephanie is that she has to hide so much from her parents, neither of whom are in a position to do her much good. Her intentions are good, but she's having to be underhanded, even outright lying. Like other Robins before her, she's learned to be self-sufficient when the adults in her life haven't been there for her.

Damian: Batman #655

"Look! The satellite's found his private jet."

Damian is the only one of the Robins whose very first appearance is kept shadowy (Tim's face was initially hidden when he debuted in his story's present, but he had already appeared fully visible as a small child). Although Damian's first remark to his father--"Father. I imagined you taller."--is characteristic of his obnoxiousness and clearly intended to be our main impression of him, it's interesting that he is actually introduced with a more childlike remark. We can see that he's observant and likes to display his knowledge, but there's also a tone of a little boy who is excited to meet his father for the first time. Here, he's not a killer but a child eager for connection, which says a lot about who he is beneath the effects of his upbringing.

(Also note that the use of contrast between his actual first line and a somewhat later but more iconic introductory line is similar to how Kon and Thad are introduced, as I detail in the other post.)

[fortuna-majoris]

I imagine one day the conversation is going about the least mischievous Robin and every one of the batkids (except Jason):

Duke: It was probably Dick, I mean he is Bruce's Golden Child?

Dami: Yes, Grayson is too morally and legally proper to not be the least problem causing Robin

Steph: I mean, Bruce always talks so fondly about him

Tim (knowing all about Dick's shenanigans): Yeah, Dick was probably the most obedient Robin

Jason (dying in the background): Dick, what stories have you told these poor innocent kids?

Dick (sheepishly): I mean...

Jason' nonono no, I am not letting you fool these innocent children. You tried to get me to smoke weed at 12. Drove a batmobile into the Gotham Harbour almost monthly. Had that ridiculous deep neck. Taught me curse words in 20 different languages by pretending that they were 'hello' I still don't think Bullock has forgiven me for calling him a little bitch. You literally dropped out of Business school. (Btw, he is ranting like he has gone mad by the end of it)

Dami: I don't believe you. Grayson would never do this

Steph: Yeah, Jas I need receipts

Jason: Why would I record Dick offering me a blunt when I had homework?

Steph: Too bad then

Afred: Master Jason, I believe I have a few recordings of Master Dick attempting to teach you on how to be a, quote, "Rebel". But in return, I want to you to attend next week's Gala with Master Bruce

Jason (defeated l): Fine Alfie, tell the old man of my attendance

Alfred: Very well (then proceeds to show them of the above scenarios)

Steph (dazed): wow, you were the most well behaved Robin?

Damian: Grayson, why haven't you passed on these skills to me??

Bruce suddenly enters: What are you guys talking about?

Dick: The most well behaved Robin

Bruce: Oh yeah, that was definitely Jason. Dick was a menace to the society and almost killed a man at 9 years. Tim blackmailed me into accepting him. Steph talked back too much. Dami carries a sword. Meanwhile Jason wanted to stay home and do homework or read.

Jason, with a self-satisfied smirk: Hah! See?!

Steph: What happened to you now?

Jason: Death and Joker.

Bruce coming home one day to find Robin Jason clinging onto a chandelier with Dick below him cheering him on.

Bruce: Jason what are you doing?

Jason: Dick said that you missed his antics after he moved out and so he’s teaching me how to be a better son

Dick: After this we’re going to drive the Batmobile into the bay :D

Jason: We’re going to what? I mean yeah! Right into the water.

Jason trying to whisper to Dick: Dick I can’t swim though

This just further fuels the chaotic dynamic of Dick and Jason during a time where Dick was still going through his teenage angst and was absolutely not a benevolent role model LMAO

I mentioned it in this post, but it's just so funny to me to imagine a Jason who grew up with an absolutely WILD Dick Grayson as an older brother, while the younger batkids grew up with a more mellowed out and mature (arguable but when measured against the other kids, he wins by a landslide) Dick Grayson.

Robin!Jason era:

Dick: You wanna go out and get high?

Jason: I can't, I have homework.

Dick, sputtering: HOMEWORK?

----

Dick, about to do an elaborate (and totally not dangerous) acrobatic move in the manor: Watch this, littlewing

Jason: You shouldn't do that, it'll make Bruce upset.

Dick, on the brink of angry tears: Why are you like this.

----

Jason, dejected: Listen, I know you don't approve of me because you think I'm not good enough as Robin, but-

Dick: Not good enough as Robin? I don't care about that, I just think you're a little bitch

----

Dick taking Jason out on a hangout for the first time: OK, looks like I got my work cut out for me. Take out a notepad and write everything down. I will NOT have my successor embarrass me like this. So what you wanna do to piss of Bruce-

---

[Years later, Jason returning to Gotham with the fury of a thousand suns and the chaos to match it]: I'm gonna make your life a living HELL, Bruce

Dick, older and relatively more chilled out: Okayyyyy, maybe let's just– calm down a lil, haha, no need for the theatrics

Jason, betrayed, observing a Dick Grayson who is teaching his new younger siblings to behave and be mature: Dick, what the FUCK

-----

Present!Dick, mentoring Tim: Make sure not to be too impulsive, don't wanna raise Bruce's blood pressure

Red Hood!Jason spying on them from afar: Who even ARE you??

-----

Jason: So you teach me ALL of that, only to turn into the ONE thing you despised so greatly all those years ago

Dick, sweating: Well-

Jason: I'm ASHAMED. How can you be worthy of being called my PREDECESSOR?

[squaric-acid]

A Complete Summary of my Thoughts Watching Batman with Michael Keaton for the First Time

It’s been 7 minutes and already I cannot take Michael Keaton’s Batman seriously

Knox is so far endearing in a dorky way

His flirting with Vicki Vale was cute

Also, I low-key want a tailored purple wool suit now. How does Jack Nicholson make it look so good?

Alfred walking behind Bruce and picking stuff up is perhaps peak physical comedy

Is this Harvey Dent also Lando Calrissian?!?!

The VCR rewind in the Bat Cave *Chef’s kiss

Also Bruce Wayne wearing glasses is so charming

The Foley gun fire noise is so classic

Batman looking around nervously before he uses a smoke bomb is hilarious

Bruce and Vicki having dinner with Alfred was such a cute moment

Jack Nicholson’s laugh as the Joker is terrifying

Lol, the hanging upside down is just perfect

The Joker without the white face paint is so unsettling

Bruce leaving roses on the spot his parents died instead of their actual graves is strange but also weirdly on-brand

Jack Nicholson’s Joker is so unhinged, the mimes and the throat stabbing with a quill, his complaint about how Batman gets all the press, the theatricality of it is fantastic

It’s an eighties movie but the vibe is decidedly sixties

The new anchors looking unkempt is a nice touch

The Joker is so camp and so macabre, I love it

Favorite scene so far is the museum scene

Also, is the Batman coming through the glass roof a throughline for all Batman movies cause I’m noticing a pattern

The Batmobile is an oversized HotWheels, it also looks ever so slightly phallic but I’ll ignore it

Batman avoiding Vicki’s gaze highlights how easy for someone who knows both him and Bruce to figure out that they’re the same person

The bat cave is cool

Bruce Wayne trying to tell Vicki the truth was a little painful but it didn’t give me second-hand embarrassment, I think cringe dramatic moments really became a thing in the nineties

What the FUCK does “never rub another man’s rhubarb” mean?!

The turtleneck and dad jeans with the glasses on guys, so iconic yet so under-appreciated

I love the aesthetic of this movie, its very 80’s but reads more like a 60’s translation of the world of the 1940’s (dieselpunk and the original comics)

The Joker killed Bob!

The bat plane in front of the moon is so clever, nice foreshadowing of the bat signal

The comically long revolver is spectacular

Also it’s an interesting take to say Joker killed Bruce’s parents

I was hoping Batman would hit Joker with the glasses

Cheesy but very enjoyable, it’s very different from Tim Burton’s later works, I think I prefer this

I think that Alfred saying he doesn’t want to spend the last few years of his life mourning for old friends or their sons was by far one of the best lines in the movie. So much was meant by it and it was put so eloquently

I enjoyed this movie immensely. It’s a very good comic book movie, and the background of Gotham is much better than the Nolan trilogy. You can tell it’s a Tim Burton movie but it lacks the overt stylistic touch of his that you see in his later movies (Nightmare Before Christmas onwards).

I had my doubts about Michael Keaton (because I’ve only ever seen him in Much Ado About Nothing) but he was a good Batman and a very good Bruce Wayne.

Jack Nicholson is amazing and I think I prefer him to Heath Ledger’s Joker.

I’m new to the Batman fandom so I’m more familiar with The Dark Knight trilogy and The Batman (2022). I saw that latter first so that will probably always be my favorite Batman movie but I think Batman with Michael Keaton is my second favorite.

[uncharted-constellations]

Batwoman Beyond

Was originally gonna be a genderbent terry but dana was calling to me so~

Theres obviously a few ways you could go about it but personally my interpretation would be that Rebirth goes the Same until Powers and Mr. Fixx track down Terry on his way to the police station, and Terry ends up badly hurt, maybe in a temporary coma, (i refuse to kill my boy lmao). Since Dana was the one to drop off Terry at Mr. Waynes right before this, she ends up going to confront him after she gets the call about Terry, however Wayne passes her on the road, going to the police with his information after finding out what happened on the news. Dana sneaks into the manor, and just like Terry, finds the cave, articles still pulled up about Powers and the affects of the nerve gas.

I can’t imagine her first instinct would be to steal the suit, at least not until she hears Wayne come back, complaining upstairs about the police being unable to do anything without the actual evidence. In a moment of determination she grabs the suit and sneaks out. Bruce shuts down the suit the second he notices it missing this time, as theres no obvious culprit, but when Dana pleads just wanting to get the evidence to put powers behind bars, Bruce relents, telling her the rest of the story on the way. The rest of the episode obviously goes differently, but Dana obviously gets more involved than planned, stopping the operation and creating blight.

Wayne ends up recruiting Dana, acknowledging that while gotham might not need a batman, it does need a hero. I imagine logistically he probably has to make her an entirely new costume because while terry was smaller than bruce dana is probably tiny in comparison lmao, thing would be baggy and probably not as effective as it should be. Pretty much the same exact design tho. She would also probably cut her hair shorter because full cowls are not long hair friendly. Bruce doesnt care if you like your hair, he’s not risking head wounds.

Dana’s career probably starts with more spying than action seeing as while she might know some stuff from her brother (hes from the comics, and was involved in jokerz shit but ill keep him) shes not as physically ready to be Batwoman, but then again we didnt get a lot of background on Dana. Maybe she plays the future equivalent of softball or something... Terry recovers probably in time for the Willie Watt/Golem episode, although he probably has some lingering physical issues that prevent him from being quite as active as he had been before, at least for a while if not permanently.

I imagine he takes a minute to figure it out but takes it in stride, forcing Wayne to hire him as well. He doesnt ask for a costume, instead helping Wayne more with the mechanical stuff which we know he’s fairly capable in based on his original observations of the suit, alongside occasionally helping with backup or undercover work, and probably as a starting sparring buddy for Dana. He might very occasionally put on the other batsuit when needed (like when inque captures batwoman, taking the place of bruce in that instance), but he’s probably more likely to throw on the nightwing mask, run in and help or deliver a necessary gadget, and then bust ass back to the batmobile, i don’t want him too too involved but more so than Max was originally.

Im undecided on whether or not Max still figures it out, but shes still a close friend for both of them. I imagine the relationship with Batwoman and 10 is also very different, partially because Dana and Terry wouldn’t have most of their relationship issues. Maybe 10 is more involved with her families schemes in this au, becoming more of a rival than a kindred spirit.

[writer-room]

Okay but the fact that Dick is the first and forever eldest child of the batkids has UNLIMITED comedy potential. Dick was like 18 when he got his first brother my guy went through EVERYTHING on his own. Bruce letting him get away with almost everything because he had no idea how to raise a kid and just wanted Dick to like him, all the supervillains varying from “is that a CHILD?” to “oh sick new punching bag”, becoming head of the news when Dick starts the first in a long line of disrupting every single gala a batkid is at, Bruce almost having a heart attack when Dick gets his first date, all of the Justice League completely baffled and unsure of what to do with this small brightly colored kid, all minor fights turning into huge things because both of them have ‘you’re wrong but please don’t leave me’ disease wherein they cannot express those feelings verbally because neither of them learned how, etc.

And now Dick has a ton of little siblings who deal with the same things but depending on the kid and situation its either way more or way less dramatic than how he had it. Damian got kidnapped? Nah, they’re stuck with him now. Tim’s got a date? Does he actually know its a date this time, or is it something Bruce can pretend isn’t happening? Jason killed someone again to piss him off? Everyone vacate the house, either Bruce is going to start brooding or getting his Disappointed speech ready. Cass died again? Eh, give it a week, just don’t tell Bruce and it’ll be fine.

Like this is PEAK comedy material right here. It’s literally “the younger siblings never had to deal with the same problems as the eldest” but they’re just so much more extreme and different. its just like; Dick when one of his siblings are annoyed they can’t go Ham on the Batmobile: You know, I got to drive the Batmobile when I was younger than most of you Bruce in the background: I was TWENTY TWO Dick: But you still let me drive it. Hypocrite

[theodorecanaryhood]

Outlaws: Battle your demons

Outlaws series, part 10 - Trevor Signorino as Jason Todd a Male reader (Silver Canary)

Scarecrow went knocking all of the police officers out, his fear toxin going through the air. Officers trying to fight back.

Crane was on a mission trying to find Batman, Red Hood and Silver Canary…after abducting Silver Canary before Scarecrow was determined to get him again.

‘Freeze’ Officer Jenson called as he came out holding a gun, Scarecrow laughed as he sprayed the Officer with gas.

Officer Jenson falls to the ground as Commissioner Gordon bursts through the door, before he can do anything Scarecrow runs away.

‘Bat signal’ Gordon says to himself as he rushes off to the roof.

…

Gordon stares at the night sky as the bat signal shines into the sky, he hears footsteps approach him from behind.

‘Jim’ Batman says as he comes to the roof, both men facing each other now they speak of the attack on the GCPD.

‘Scarecrow attacked the precinct, he’s escaped and I figured you would be the best for this’ the Commissioner said, Batman nodded.

‘Is there anyone else that was with him?’ Batman asks, Gordon shakes his head.

‘Not that I know of, I guessed you could look into it, same as me’

Batman nods as he shakes the Commissioner’s hand, taking his exit as he gets into the Batmobile.

‘Hood’ Batman says as he answers the phone to his second Son, Jason comes over with sounds of fighting in the background.

‘Saw the bat signal, figured I’d give you a call to see if there’s anything you need’ Jason replies over the phone.

‘Scarecrow has escaped after attacking the GCPD, I’m en route now to find him’ Batman replied.

There was a silence for a few seconds as Jason began to speak again, clearing his throat.

‘Scarecrow? Do you want me to help?’ He asks his Father, Bruce nods a little as he turns sharply round a bend.

‘If you can help, but best to keep y/n out of it for now, as his last run in didn’t go well’ Batman says as Jason sighs.

‘He won’t like the news when he finds out, but I guess so’ Jason chuckled as he then hangs up and meets Bruce in China Town.

…

You roll restless in bed as the sun hits you, hitting different as it’s early morning.

Jason’s arm remains around your waist pinning you down, you roll over to face him. Seeing his sleeping face as he stays in his heavy sleep.

‘Morning gorgeous’ you whisper with a smile, kissing Jason gently on the cheek as you roll out of bed.

Another late night patrol meant Jason didn’t get in till around 4am. You had stuff to do and wanted an early start on the day.

Jason rocked into the kitchen around 11am still in just his underwear with his bed hair. Sleep still present on his face.

‘Morning hot stuff’ you whistled as Jason laughed, walking over and kissing you.

‘Hey handsome’ he smiled as he kissed you again. His eyes heavy as he still hadn’t slept enough.

‘There’s a whole pot of coffee, I’m gonna run out to the store quickly’ you said as you stood up.

Jason nodded as he gave a sleepy smile while you put on some shoes, Jason had an incoming call from Bruce.

He knew it was about the two still looking for Scarecrow, and he knew he would have to tell you. However, Jason didn’t know how you’d react.

Jason thought about the time you saved him from killing the Joker, the time you gave to look endlessly for him.

‘What?’ You asked almost out of disbelief and shock as Jason told you.

‘Crane escaped from GCPD’ Jason repeated, you looked a little scared but also angry.

‘When did this happen?’

Jason had to be honest, he couldn’t keep it from you. You would find out the truth anyway.

‘Last week’ Jason replied, not looking at your face as he answered. Knowing you would be angry.

The silence intrigued Jason to look at you as you suddenly stood up, Jason wasn’t sure what you would do.

‘You can hit me if you want’ Jason remarked as you faced him.

‘I’m not gonna hit you, I am angry but not with you’

Jason looked confused a little as he watched for your next move.

‘Huh?’

‘Babe, I’m not angry with you. I get why you didn’t tell me, the guy abducted me and you’re worried. But you should’ve told me earlier’ you smiled as you placed a hand on Jason’s cheek.

‘Y/n, it was Bruce’s idea. He didn’t want to worry you’ Jason revealed, you nodded as you smiled.

‘I understand, I guess you guys could use my help’

…

Scarecrow stood on the rooftop of the nearby church as his back was to you. Of course you anticipated he knew you were coming.

‘Silver Canary, we meet again. I missed you’ Scarecrow said, you huffed as Scarecrow turned around.

‘I figured’ you sarcastically replied as you raised your fists.

‘As a boy, I used to torture birds’ Crane said as he walked closer to you.

‘I’m not your therapist, Scarecrow’ you once again replied sarcastically as Scarecrow went to spray you with fear gas.

Suddenly a smile pellet was dropped and Scarecrow couldn’t see you anymore, Batman and Red Hood appeared either side of you.

‘Stand down, Crane’ Batman growled, holding a batarang as Red Hood pulled out a pistol.

‘You didn’t think I came here alone, did you?’ Scarecrow laughed as he revealed that he wasn’t alone.

Mad Hatter, Riddler, Penguin and Mr Freeze we’re all there too.

‘Five against three, hardly seems fair’ Red Hood remarked as he gave a kick to a nearby tank. Abandoned on the roof.

Batman took charge of taking down Scarecrow while you and Red Hood took on the others.

Penguin and Riddler were easier to take down but Batman was having trouble keeping Crane down, along with Mad Hatter and Mr Freeze not being willing to take hits.

‘Fuck it, cover your ears’ you said, rushing forward as Bruce threw himself out of Scarecrows way.

The remaining villains stood in front of you as you nearly burst a lung, letting out your Canary cry. Knocking them all over and giving a final kick to Crane to knock him out.

Batman called Jim for assistance in taking the criminals back to lock up while he sped off in the Batmobile, you and Jason following behind on Jason’s motorbike.

…

‘That was epic, we should team up more’ Jason said as he collapsed into bed, feeling satisfied as he lay comfortably.

‘We should, nothing better than a bird and a Bat Boy fighting crime’ you remarked as Jason pulled you into bed with him.

Jason kissed you hard as you pulled him in, holding him close to you. Jason began tugging at your shirt with one hand while trying to remove his underwear with his other hand.

‘Now?’ You laughed as Jason attacked your neck and shoulder.

‘Yes, now’ he breathed out as he held you down once he’d got all yours and his clothing removed.

…

You slept soundly knowing Scarecrow was off the streets, knowing Jason wasn’t out till 4am and safe next to you.

You knew Jason would sleep heavier and longer tonight as the exhaustion was kicking in, but you knew he needed the rest.

A new adventure would happen soon, but for now laying in your husbands arms was all you needed.

[thebad---catholic]

Things I’d like to see in a Batman movie

Alfred, Bruce, and Dick(14ish) fighting intruders at Wayne manor. Alfred’s moves are all very precise and fast, all close hand to hand; Dick is jumping off bookshelves and roundhouse kicks someone and is just a maniac; Bruce just fucking yeets a grown man out of a window

—-

Dick: [practicing ballet while Alfred and Bruce are in the doorway]

A: your father wouldn’t have let you do ballet.

B: I’m not my father. [pauses, looks at him] you would’ve let me do ballet.

A:Let you? Would’ve preferred it over what you do now

——

Bruce sprays himself w fear toxin to make himself immune (or just prepare for its affects) and has the most batshit horrifying nightmare sequence.

Scarecrow later sprays him in a fight, Batman doesn’t flinch, slowly breathing out fear gas out of his nostrils like a goddamn demon

———

Dick at his apartment on the phone with Jason, suddenly aware there’s someone in there with him. Dick continues a normal convo as he scours his house. Maybe he stays on the phone during the fight, maybe he puts him on hold idk

——

Early in his training, Jason spits on Bruce bc that’s how Jason learned to fight. Bruce says to never, ever, spit on an opponent unless he was ready to die. When joker asks him if he has any last words, Jason spits in his face.

——

B: [just got Dick. He’s using a child in the house an excuse not to host so many parties bc he doesn’t like them that much] it’ll be nice to finally get some peace and quiet around here.

*very loud crash from the other room. The light leaves Bruce’s eyes*

—-

Bruce: [in some remote area in the middle of nowhere, being held up by men who’re p much abt to kill him

Man: who’s are you?

Bruce: Thomas uh...Pennyworth

Man: Alfred Pennyworth is your father?

Bruce: [visibly confused] Yes?

The band of men: *cheer, give Bruce a hot meal and send him on his way*

——

Maybe just a recurring theme of the moment the Batfam members realize alfred is incomprehensibly badass

——-

Tim on a 4chan(ish) site, where everyone adamantly denies that Bruce Wayne is Batman. He notices a pattern emerge. Tim copies the posts onto a word doc. Despite being local, most of the posts contain British spelling. That’s how he knows it’s a cover up

——

Bruce’s and Jason’s motifs both contain the Dires Ire. Dick’s and Joker’s motifs are both circus music, but jokers is discordant and dicks is just a little bit sad. The Batfam theme combines elements of their motifs, adding more the bigger the family gets

——

Barb: [as oracle] oh, look it that, I got into their speaker system that’s weird.

Nightwing: can you play music?

Speakers: It’s Britney, bitch

Nightwing: [screams, fist fights to gimme more playing in the background]

——

Movie opens with a woman you don’t know fighting some guy and stealing his shit. She bursts through a window, doing impressive flips n shit to scale the fire escape. She slides into a black car, revealed to be the Batmobile. She leans down, takes her wig off- it’s Dick.

———

Bruce[suiting up, grabbing supplies, having an argument with Alfred] maybe I’m Gotham’s hero, and maybe I’m just some bratty rich kid whose bored, I don’t know. But I know one thing

A: and what’s that?

Bruce: [getting into the batmobile] No one is going to die, tonight.

[fancyfade]

ok last 1

setup of this comic (detective comics 369) is like “Batgirl breaks up the dynamic duo” and it starts with this panel

[image: a panel showing batman (bruce wayne), mostly off screen from the batmobile saying “it’s patrol-time, robin! Hop in and let’s get going.” Batgirl (barbara gordon) gestures at her bike and says “wouldn’t you rather go with me, robin?” I have a sidecar with your own special insignia attached to my batbike!” dick grayson as robin looks between the two of them. end image]

[image: next panel shows barbara and didck helping bruce off the floor, each trying to pull up on oneo f his arms. there is an unconscious bad guy in the background. dick says “soon as you rest -- and get over your swamp fever...” Bruce says “ so -- that explains your actions of the past week... you were right to do what you did... and how you did it! I Wouldn’t have quit.” end image]

anyway context:

evidently batman fell in a swamp and got sick (which barbara identified immediately because of her photographic memory) and she knew he was going to fall unconscious sometime in the next week. rather than tell him any of this she conspired with robin to stalk him during patrol hours to make sure he didn’t fall unconscious during patrol

obviously they couldn’t just tell him he was sick because he’d still insist on doing batman stuff... and he admits they were right XD

“you know that dumbass move that would have definitely got me killed? You’re so right, i would have done that”

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

The God Honest Truth - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, bits of Cass and Duke Summary: In which Dick asks Bruce an important question about their littlest partner. And Bruce answers wrong. A/N: Honestly I’m too deep in the throes of depression and self-loathing for an author’s note. How I’m pretending/imaging the prep for the Robin 5 reunion goes or whatever.

~~

“Did you ever tell him the truth?”

Bruce is barely on the bottom step leading into the Cave when he stops at the voice. He glances forward, sees Tim, Jason and Stephanie putting weapons in duffle bags. Duke and Cassandra are taking turns between typing on the computer and calling out items on a checklist to the other three.

He turns towards the lockers, where the voice came from, and finds Dick sitting there. His Nightwing uniform was only half on, pooled around his waist, one boot on and one still sitting in front of him. He was hunched over, elbows on his knees, something in his hand. A paper or card, if Bruce had to guess.

Dick glanced up, eyes looking tired and sad, waiting on the answer.

“Did I ever tell who what?” Bruce asked, moving forward. He stopped a few steps away from his eldest, glanced back at the object in his hands. Not a card – a picture. Old and crumpled, like it’d been in a wallet, or held often.

“Damian.” Dick whispers the name like it wasn’t allowed to be said. “Did you tell him the truth?” Dick paused, looked back down at the photo, ran his thumb over one corner. “You told him he didn’t kill Alfred, right?”

“Of course I did.” Bruce nodded. “I told him I don’t blame him many times.”

Dick’s fingers tightened on the photograph. When he looked up this time, his eyes were angry. “That’s not the same thing.”

“Of course it is.” Bruce countered, giving a small shrug. “Damian knows what I meant.”

Dick stared at him for a few more seconds, then stood. “Yeah, he did. And I guess now so do I.”

Bruce frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

“Fault and blame have two totally different meanings.” Dick spit. “You’re a fucking genius, Bruce. I know you know that.”

“I don’t blame him, Dick. Of course I don’t. I’d be ridiculous to.” Bruce countered.

Dick opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly Jason called over. Dick’s head snapped to the side, listening as Jason asked about a certain weapon, and the weather report. Dick gave him a tight smile and nodded.

But when he turned back to Bruce, his face was already stone.

“Say it.” He murmured.

“Say what?” Bruce sighed.

Dick’s grip on the picture, now only in one hand, tightened. “Say it wasn’t Damian’s fault.”

“I don’t blame him.” Bruce hummed. “No one should.”

“Say it wasn’t Damian’s fault.” Dick repeated, voice harder, more angry. “Say. It.”

Bruce stared at him a moment, his own gaze darting between Dick’s eyes.

“I don’t blame him.” Bruce returned softly. “I never have, and I never will.”

“Fuck you.” Dick said instantly, venomously. If Bruce didn’t know him as well as he did, he would have prepared for a fight. Taken a defensive position. “Alfred would be ashamed of you.”

Bruce’s gut twisted at that, and he felt himself biting his tongue. He let his eyes drop back to the picture in Dick’s hand. It was turned a little now, and even half covered by Dick’s grip, Bruce could see it well enough.

Dick and Damian, from years past. Dick was in the Batman uniform, Damian as Robin. Alfred blurry in the background. Stephanie too, giving a peace sign as she sat on the roof of the Batmobile.

Their masks were off. They were both laughing. Dick was in the chair at the computer monitors, and Damian was climbing along his back like a baby monkey would their mother, his head leaning sideways over Dick’s shoulder, as if he was playing some childish game of peek-a-boo around Dick’s head.

Dick, a coffee mug in hand, had his head turned, staring up at Damian with bright eyes, and a brighter smile. The epitome of not only joy, but love. Absolute, unconditional love.

And Damian was staring down at him with the exact same expression.

Bruce stared at it a moment more, then let his eyes drift back up to Dick’s face. Dick had turned away now, watching the three packing bags.

Bruce thought for a moment, let the clues put themselves together.

Packing bags. The family packing bags. Three former Robins packing bags.

Dick secluded. Dick’s emotional state. Dick’s photograph.

“…Where is he?” Bruce asked softly. “You found him?”

Dick snorted bitterly and shook his head. “I don’t think I’m under any obligation to tell you any of that.”

Bruce scoffed sarcastically right back. “Well, he’s my son, so I think you are.”

Dick seemed to hesitate, then slowly looked back at Bruce. His eyes were dark, but his face no longer angry. His face was no longer anything. Blank. Empty.

For a second, Bruce didn’t recognize him.

“You know, since we’re talking about being honest, I’m going to be honest with you.” Dick decided. He turned to face Bruce head on. Never blinked, never raised his voice. Simply said: “You don’t deserve him.”

Bruce merely blinked at him.

“You never deserved him.” Dick continued. “And I regret giving him back to you every day of my life.”

Bruce still just waited.

“…He’s a good kid.” Dick’s voice wavered a little now. Cracked just slightly. It seemed to break him of his slight trance, and he pulled the picture up. Clung to it between both hands, stared at it as if he was trying to memorize it. “A great kid. And I…I just wish you’d see that.”

Suddenly, Stephanie whistled. They both looked over as she spun her hand over her head, motioning for Dick to head towards their vehicle.

“Feel better now?” Bruce asked. Dick just sighed and closed his eyes. Folded the picture back up, and threw it into the duffle he’d been packing for himself. He slipped his foot into his remaining boot and pulled his suit up over his torso.

“Don’t wait up.” Dick grumbled, zipping up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. “We’re not coming back until we find him.”

Dick spun on his heel, all but jogging towards the plane. He met up with Tim halfway, and wrapped an arm tight around his back, ruffling his hair as he held the younger’s head to his shoulder. Tim laughed, and indulged him for a moment, before playfully pushing him away.

Tim slowed, then. Watched the other three board the aircraft, then looked at Bruce with a crooked smile. “Think you can survive a few days without a Robin, B?”

“You’re not just helping them get to…wherever they’re going?” Bruce asked, almost surprised. Almost sad, nervous. “I mean, I know you have other important things to do. And you and Damian don’t…”

Tim’s barely-there smile disappeared. “What’s more important than making sure my little brother is safe and getting him home?”

If Bruce was surprised before, he was almost floored now. Since when did Tim care so much about Damian? Was it since Alfred? Since Dick’s amnesia? Before all of that? Did Bruce…how did Bruce miss that?

“…And for the record.” Tim mumbled sheepishly. “Damian and I don’t hate each other anymore.” A small chuckle, just to himself. “Just because we don’t like each other doesn’t mean we won’t die for each other, you know?”

Bruce’s gut twisted some more. The statement left a bad taste in his mouth.

“…I don’t blame him, Tim. For anything.” Bruce whispered. “You…you know that, right?”

Tim frowned now. Looked down. “…Are you telling me that, or telling yourself?”

Tim scurried away before Bruce could even open his mouth. He disappeared into the plane and the door sealed shut behind him.

He felt Cassandra and Duke come up and stand on either side of them, the three watching as the plane took off into the tunnels and out to the world.

“…Dick is right.” Cassandra whispered. “It was not his fault.”

“I…” Bruce, finally, felt himself falter. Felt himself question. “I know.”

“Do you?” Duke said in a disbelieving hum as he walked away, back towards the computer. Cassandra stayed at his side, staring up at him for a few seconds. Then she turned away too, leaving Bruce to stand alone.

“…Does he?”

[stressedoutcanary]

Hold On - Jason Todd x Batgirl!Reader [PART 3]

What this includes: Violence, a combo of angst and fluff, and just to be on the safe side I’d say language.

Word count: 3.1k

A/N😋: I am so glad it’s finally finished, now it won’t be sitting in my drafts staring at me all day. Also forgive me for any mistakes, half of it is written at 3 AM

Part 1 , Part 2

•°•°•°•°

“This is it”, you breathed out, stopping your bike near a bush making sure that place was obscure enough. You placed the helmet on the handle and hopped off the bike. After taking a few steps forward and scouting the area, you clicked your comms back on.

“O care to give me the layout of what I am getting myself into, ‘cause we all know the last time didn’t go so well”

“Nightwing said you might call me for backup and now I owe him 20 uggh! Anyways onto the problem at hand, I’m picking up a few heat signatures from the basement area and the schematics of the building indicate a vent on the other side which might help you get in.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

There was no reply on the other end and you assumed she was looking into it. To your bad luck, it was far from it. You heard an all too familiar grunt and mentally cursed yourself for forgetting that it was an open line.

“(Y/N), I thought I made myself clear”, Bruce’s modulated voice came through which low-key made you want to strangle him with your bare hands.

“Oh come on B! Didn’t Alfred teach you that listening in on other people’s conversations is bad manners”

“We are 10 minutes out you will not be going in till we get there”

‘Like Hell I won’t’

“Hello? B? Your voice is breaking up. I can’t hear you! there is some interference in the signal. Batman?”

“Don’t- ” you clicked the comms off before he could finish his sentence and breathed a sigh of relief. ”Note to self after what you just did, avoid showing your face to anyone in the fam for at least a week.”

Snooping around, you came across the vent Babs told you about and you smirked to yourself, “Bless those idiots who decided to make an excess amount of vents throughout Gotham, plus no dumbass to shoot open the lock on any door, huh I’d say it’s going pretty good for me.”

After going through a very, very dusty vent, you silently dropped down to floor behind a goon and cleared your throat to draw his attention. As soon as he turned around, his jaw was met with your right hook, making him plummet to the ground. Grabbing him by the collar you inched closer to his face, which was yet again fully covered by a white mask.

“Alright no-face, tell me where Pyg is right now”, you made use of your deep modulated voice, making the man dart his eyes towards the far right corner of the room. You knew what that meant and without wasting any more time, you knocked him out and scurried over, finding a heavy door at the end. Somehow managing to push open the door, you were faced with a circular stairwell leading down.

“Well Oracle did say she got heat signatures down in the basement.”, you sighed and started taking calculated steps, making sure to check for any traps. ‘Why keep only one person to guard your supersecret creep-house? Either Lazlo is way too overconfident or way too crazy... Probably both.’, you thought, wheels turning in your head, hoping to make sense of the situation. As you went down, you could catch a faint sound of music. ‘Is that Opera?! Well at least it fits his M.O.’

The end of the stairwell opened into a large room. You hid behind one of wooden crates as your mind swiftly accessed the grim ambience; Pyg was sharpening his knife swaying along with opera music playing in the background but Jason was nowhere to be found. Your breath hitched and your blood ran cold, it felt as if the world around you was spinning.

‘What if... what if it’s too late’  Crouching down on the ground with your back to the crate your took in several deep breaths to calm your racing heart. You couldn’t think like that, not when you’re so close. You wiped the stray tear which escaped the tightness of your cowl and had trailed down your cheek. You tried to focus instead of jumping to conclusions.

You frowned upon noticing something odd on the wall in front of you, placing your palms on it, you gave it a slight push. To your surprise it paved way for an attached corridor which clearly didn’t come up in the schematics Oracle told you about. You slipped into the corridor, making sure that nobody saw you. Your feet froze for a slight second on the sight you were met with; cages like prison cells lined up in a row with people inside of them.

“The people who went missing”, you whispered to yourself, still reeling in the shock of it all. Upon hearing a familiar groan you sprinted across the pathway to the source, eyes scanning every inch of the person you found, the person you were here to rescue. You fumbled with the lock for a while, muttering curses under your breath until it clicked open. You dashed to his side and took a batarang out to cut the binds he was in.

“Jay if you die on me again, I swear I will kill you.”

“Been there, done that princess and honestly not a fan of it”, Jason croaked out, his reply came out weaker and voice barely above a whisper. It made your heart clench in a way it hasn’t in a long, long time. You lifted your head up, you gave him a soft smile, gently brushing off the matted hair on his forehead, 

“Jason I..”

‘Just tell him you love him you coward, It’s really not that hard’

“Jason I’m glad you’re okay”, you blurted out in way which was far from normal but he seemed way too tired to noticed. 

‘COWARD’

“How did you get free?”, he inquired, thankfully interrupting your internal yelling.

“I didn’t? I literally just walked in here to get you out.”

“But I thought-”, Jason looked utterly confused as he rubbed his wrists to ease the pain caused by the rope.

“Well long story short. You got captured. I was saved by Harley and Ivy, had a nice chat with them, and then I might have been responsible for Batman’s high blood pressure, and then I emotionally blackmailed Nightwing into giving me your location and then here I am”

“Wha...Yeah I will just pretend I totally understand whatever the hell you just said.”, Jason sighed, he tried to stand up but his feet wobbled and if it wasn’t for you catching him on time h would’ve staggered to the ground.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Mmhmm”, he hummed lightly leaning his weight on you. “Just a little dizzy, probably from the dehydration, It could also be because of the blood loss from the stab wound I got”

“The WHAT?!”, you looked at him like he was crazy.  

“Oh yeah I think I kinda forgot to tell you that the creepy dude tried to cut me open but my armor got in the way so he stabbed me instead and went away saying he had to sharpen his knife or something like that”, he started to slur and you knew you had to get him back to the cave as quickly as possible. You helped him get up on his feet, slinging one of his arms over your shoulders and wrapping one of your arms around his waist.

“Oh my God! Jay, you don’t just bring this sort of thing up in casual conversation!”, you shook your head and started taking small steps with him towards the way you came from. Suddenly a loud crash was heard followed by a couple of screams making the both of you share a nervous glance.

“What was that?”

“Only one way to find out”, you said as you walked through the door back into the large room. 

It was pure chaos, more like a free-for-all. Nightwing jogged up to you. 

“We did say we were 10 minutes out didn’t we?”, he gave you a bright smile and swung Jason’s free arm over his shoulder to help you support him better.

“Good, now since you are here, hold him”, you shifted Jason’s weight towards Dick.

“Hey-”

“Don’t even”, he glared daggers at his elder brother, “What are you even doing? I feel like a baby being passed around”

You ignored Jason’s whining in the background and fixed your gaze on the one person in the room who would soon face your wrath. The rest had already cleared up the goons and Pyg was the only one left. You narrowed your eyes and cracked your knuckles, making your way over to him.

By the time you reached Pyg he was already backing away from Batman and one murderous looking Robin, turning around he tried to make a run for it but was ultimately met with your fist, a sickening crack was heard and no one was quite sure whether it was from his mask, his jaw or both. Pyg was out cold and you shrugged at the duo in front of you while Dick and Jason made their way over.

“Remind me never to get on her bad side ever again.”, Jason whispered as both the boys looked completely terrified of you. You walked over to Bruce and held out your hand. He didn’t seem to catch the drift, for being the world’s greatest detective, he was quite dumb sometimes.

“The keys to the batmobile, unless you want Mr. surprise-I-got-stabbed over here to bleed out.”

After placing Jason into the passenger seat you hopped into the driving one. 

“Also there are people in the back, you know, the missing ones, so good luck with the clean up I guess.”, you called out before before closing the hood of the batmobile. 

You were on the road heading straight for the cave when you realized Jason wasn’t answering your questions anymore.

“Jason?”, you stole a glance at him and he was as pale as a ghost, “Shit!”, you yelled as you jammed your foot on the accelerator. 

•°•°

Jason woke up to the dull beeping of multiple monitors and by the looks of the place, he concluded he was in fact in the batcave. As he regained some control over his senses, he saw you sitting on a chair beside his bed. You were sound asleep but he could see worry etched on your face even in your slumber. Looking at you, Jason wished he had the courage to say what his heart felt instead he just went ahead taking your hand in his, giving it a little squeeze. You stirred awake at that.

“Hey! You’re up!”, you stood up abruptly and hugged him tightly. To him it felt as if you were actually afraid of what might happen if you let go of him.

“I told you I don’t do dying anymore. It sucks.”

You finally pulled away from him, a smile tugging at your lips. Jason glanced at your hand, taking it in his once again, he ran his thumb over your bruised knuckles.

“I knew you had a mean right hook, guess I just forgot how mean”, Jason said smirking at you. You didn’t pull away from him as he had expected in his head instead you just scoffed at the statement. 

“The next time you forget that, allow me to give you a reminder by demonstration Bird-Brain”, you called him by the name you often used back then. At first it was to annoy your very annoying best friend but then it stuck around but hadn’t used that nickname ever since he came back. You both realized that. A silence fell over the once playful conversation, his eyes found the celling and yours found your lap. After a while you cleared you throat to get his attention and he looked at you, his expressions were borderline unreadable.

“Jason I-I should go now, but don't worry I’ll get Alfred back here”, You got up and moved towards the door of the med-bay, scrunching your eyes shut you released a shaky breath.

‘It’s now or never (Y/N)’ 

“Jason when you get better, there is this place I have been meaning to take you to, with me of course.”

“Sure I’ll go”

“So tomorrow sounds good?”

“Tomorrow sounds good”, he repeated after you breaking into a grin. Your cheeks flushed and you had to take a sharp turn to hide the blush on your face. You mentally smacked yourself for behaving like a teen asking her crush out on a date for the first time. 

•°•°

The next night Jason met you on the roof of the Wayne tower.

“Please tell me this isn’t the place you wanted to see with me”, he chuckled behind you and you turned around to give him a quick hug.

“It’s not that bad of a place, plus I can throw you off here too if you get on my nerves”, you laughed at his faux scandalised face.

“You wound me”

“In case you forgot you are already wounded, drama queen, plus its your lucky day, this is not where we will be spending our evening. Just follow me and don’t get lost on the way”, you winked and jumped off the edge, him following the suit.

When you both reached the place you had in mind, the place Jason cherished when he was Robin, the expression on his face was priceless. It was like a mixture of awe and surprise with a hint of sadness.

“How did you find out about this?”, Jason inquired after a while of reminiscing. 

“Gee how indeed, ‘cause it cannot be the fact that I am detective who’s life is influenced by at least a dozen detectives and it’s most definitely not the fact that for me, you aren’t that difficult to figure out”

“Touché”

Jason chuckled at your usual playful sarcasm, his eyes were twinkling with something which felt more than just momental adoration and you couldn’t help but crack a small smile of your own. You made your way over to him, looking at the visible skyline for a brief moment, Jason watched as you sat down on the ledge with your legs dangling off, patting the space beside you gestured him to join you. 

“I have a feeling we’re gonna be here for a while, so might as well sit down and get comfortable”, you shrugged as he nodded and sat down beside you, placing his elbow on his bent knee. You both enjoyed the few minutes of comfortable silence, watching cars pass by below and the moon lit starry sky above.

“I am starting to see why you liked it here”

“Yeah...”

“Alfred told me”

“Huh?”, Jason looked at you dumbfounded, trying to process your words.

“After you...were gone, Alfred told me, he told me that this was your happy place, though I still can’t believe you had a favorite gargoyle”, stifling a laugh you somehow managed to continue, “Anyway so as I saying, ever since I found out about it, I used to come here every night when I got free from patrol, come to think of it I still do, sometimes”

You could feel his heavy gaze boring into you making you immediately regret bringing up this conversation. 

“Why?”, he finally inquired. You didn’t know whether to feel relived or be tense, but it was now or never, releasing a shallow breath you glanced at him, words flowing out on their own accord. 

“Even back then I knew everyone dies at some point and all we can do is try and find some meaning in it, in the memories they leave behind and I guess me wanting to be here, it was a part of me trying to do that and it made me feel somewhat connected to you so I kept doing it; Coming here, spending any time I could spare and leaving before the crack of dawn and before I knew it, it had become a habit.”

“So you did miss me”, he gave you a sad smile and wrapped his hand around your shoulder, giving you a light squeeze. 

“Of course I did you dumbass, I was best friend.”, you gave him a nudge and leaned your cheek on his chest, sighing deeply.

“The reason I avoided you after you came back was because I was scared”, you whispered, hoping it would sound less real that way. Jason pulled back a bit to take in your features and you could hear the strain in his voice, a hint of sadness in it.

“Scared of me?”

“Jason I wasn’t scared of you, I can never be, I was scared for you. I was afraid of losing you again. Every time you come back I lose you all over again and I am honestly tired of it and I thought that maybe if I kept my distance I--”

“Won’t get hurt again?”

“Yeah, something like that”

A moment passed where no one spoke anything, both of you running the scenarios of what might happen next in your brains. An idea clicked in your head and you abruptly got to your feet startling Jason in the process. Offering him your hand and a sheepish smile, you got him to his feet.

“I am tired of being scared Jason. I want this. I want us and for that I am willing to take a chance, are you?”, he stepped closer to you, his scent invading your senses.  

“For you (Y/N), anything. You should know that by now, plus I feel the same way, I have for a while now”, Jason breathed out as he pulled you in for a deep kiss leaving you dizzy for a while after you pulled away for air. Placing your foreheads together, you found yourselves grinning like idiots yet again in the two successive nights. Jason’s stomach growled, sending you into a fit of laughter.

“Hungry?”

“You really gotta ask?”, raising an eyebrow, he tried to look offended but ultimately melted against you as you pressed your lips on his for a brief moment.

“I know a place”, you murmured, lips brushing against his and before he could register what was happening you already had a grapnel gun in your hands, smirking as you jumped off the ledge.

“Last one there is a rotten egg hoodie!!”

“Hey! But I don’t even know where it is!”

“Not my fault Bird-Brain!”

Jason jumped on after you, smiling to himself. Both of you were thinking the same thing ‘maybe this was finally the start of a new chapter; something new, something scary and something beautiful altogether’

°•°•°•°•

Tags: @ladyperceval

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 6

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Elevator took her all the way to the highest floor. When she exited, the floor was back to perfect condition and several more plants were awaiting her. She promised them silently to check on them soon and went to the main office. She knocked several times on the doors, but nobody answered. Hesitantly, she pushed the doors open, but no one was in the office. After double-checking with security, it turned out that Tim Drake did not show to work. She sighed. Looks like more work for her… Just like Nathalie said.

“Didn’t you cause enough drama…” Lila never got a chance to end that sentence, because Mari delivered a straight one strong enough to send her flying several feet back before she came crashing down. Blood pouring from her nose.

The girl was about to launch herself at the liar and pound her into the ground when two strong arms grabbed her. She noticed the characteristic spikes on the sides of black gloves and stated to trash around. “Let me go you overgrown furry!” She screamed. “I will mix her face with the concrete until it’s nice and even!”

She tried to wiggle herself out of his grip. Most of the class surrounded Lila and were trying to help her. It only served to irate Mari more. She kicked her leg back, hitting Batman’s shin. It was finally enough to let her go. The girl fell down... right into the embrace of Chloe and Adrien who managed to get to her on time. The two blondes hugged her tightly. 

“There. It’s alright Goldie. You got her good. Rest.” The girl cooed and pressed her best friend to her chest, muffling the sobbing. Adrien was just silently there and hugged them both. When Batman tried to approach again, the boy sent him an angry glare. The warning was clear and the vigilante didn’t really need anything from the girl right now. 

After a bit, Mari fell asleep in their embrace. The stress finally caught up to her and she couldn’t hold exhaustion at bay any longer. Chloe easily picked her up and started to walk toward a taxi that was conveniently parked nearby, waiting for them. 

“What!?” Angry Alya looked from Lila who was now being cared for by a pair of paramedics. She turned to Commissioner Gordon who was discussing something with Batman. “You!” 

The policeman looked at her curiously. Alya continued her shouting. “You’re letting her go just like that? She just assaulted Lila! She might’ve ruined her modeling career! Arrest her!”

“Miss.” Gordon shook his head. “These are some of the braves men and women in Gotham, but I doubt any of them would dare to try and arrest her right now. They don’t get paid enough.”

“What?!” Several kids started to protest, but Gordon just ignored them and directed Harvey to start taking statements. He wasn’t paid enough to deal with these brats. 

--------

Bruce sighed as he exited the Batmobile. Almost immediately, he was swarmed by the rest of his family. Jason and Dick practically carried him, still in the suit, to the movie room. 

“Now, Ladies and Gents, we have some of the greatest shows for you. We call it… The Demon Trashing!”

What followed was a clip taken from monitoring in the anteroom of the CEO office in Wayne Tower. He watched as Damian, dressed in civilian clothing, and carrying a simple ninjato on his back entered the room. He walked around for a moment before knocking on the main office doors, but whatever answer he got seemed to have irritated him given the scowl that formed on his face. He walked over to the PA’s desk that stood there, but no one was here. After a short moment, one could see the elevator doors open again and a small girl in a smart outfit walked in. Damian dashed to the shadows before she had a chance to notice him. 

Bruce resisted the urge to facepalm. He could already see where this was going. 

When the girl started to walk to the desk, his son suddenly reappeared with the sword drawn. He pressed the blade to her neck. From the angle, it was impossible to see either of them expressions. The man did not expect his son to kill a civilian for trespassing, but the amount of glee on Jason’s and Dick’s faces was suggesting that his headache hadn’t really started.

The girl suddenly grabbed the blade and pushed it away. Damian, probably acting on instinct, tried to cut her, but she just walked out of the way and disarmed his son before knocking him out. There was a short skip to when Jason and Dick entered the room. The small girl was clearly very much irritated with them from the start and when she reached her limits, she used a pencil as a projectile to open the elevator doors. 

A small smirk made its way to Bruce’s face when he saw her storm past his three sons, carrying the ninjato through a tissue. The video ended with Damian waking up.

“And that’s how Drake’s new PA trashed a certain Demon Spawn. I swear, she could probably give Luthor’s bodyguard a run for her money when it comes to being a badass” Jason commented on the silent video in his typical fashion. 

“Tt. She stole my sword.” Damian huffed.

“You mean the sword she later used to stab Riddler’s man before disarming him?”

“I still consider the best part of today when she called B. an overgrown furry,” Dick said trying to hold back on laugher.

“Wait. I have a new personal assistant?” Tim asked half-awake. 

“Yeah. She was supposed to be an intern, but apparently, Sarah hired her on the spot and quit.”

“Oh… Cool.” Tim said and took a swing from his gargantuan cup. 

“Did you manage to pull the video of her taking down Riddler?” Bruce asked.

“The cameras malfunctioned before she even entered.”

“It was me,” Tim confessed. “I was still in my office when the alarm sounded. I keep a separate copy of my suit in a hidden compartment. To save time I dressed there, but I had to disable the CCTV…”

“Yeah yeah. Whatever.” Jason shut him up. “I also got the part when Damian’s eyes roll back as my new screensaver.”

“Tt. You’re lucky I don’t have my sword.”

“Don’t think you’re getting it back any time soon,” Bruce said in a stern tone and sighed. “What exactly do we know about her?”

“She is from Gotham, but she lives in Paris for some years. She said she was practicing martial arts since she was five.” Dick started

“She is also one bada…”

Jason was interrupted by Alfred, who entered the room with a plate full of cookies and tea. “A young woman just called. She asked me to forward a message to young master Damian.”

“Tt. What is it?”

“I quote. ‘Good luck getting your sword back now. Police took it as evidence. Suck it, Wayne.’ I believe the woman was young miss Chloe Bourgeoise.”

Dick, Jason, and Tim were literally rolling on the floor laughing. Bruce just facepalmed.

“No, you can’t break into the evidence room. You might jeopardize the whole investigation if you taint the evidence.” Bruce said in an exasperated tone. 

----------

It was late after midnight (or even early morning, depends on your definition) when the vigilantes returned from the patrol, only to meet Tim and Barbara working on something on Batcomputer in tandem. Whatever it was, they were completely devoted to it since neither realized they had company until Bruce made a coughing sound.

“Not now.” 

“What exactly are you doing?” The father inside Bruce resisted the urge to force-feed Tim some sleeping meds. 

“We’re doing the background check,” Barbara said while typing frantically.

“On my new personal assistant.” The boy supplied.

“oh?” Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“Like… from what we found she is either the worst bitch on the block or strongest badass around.”

“Langauge master Tim.” Alfred scolded him. 

“Sorry. But like seriously! There are so many contradictions.”

“Check this out.” She pulled out a scan of a letter. It was largely creased, but still perfectly readable. “Her adopted parents one day disappeared, leaving her everything they owed sans some of their clothes. It was like they packed and left.”

“You suspect a foul play?”

“I’m not sure. The investigation was a joke and so was the follow-up proceeding. The interesting part is the custody battle that followed.” 

“Jagged freaking Stone and Parisian Mayor.” Tim interrupted Babs. “It ended with a compromise that Jagged was lawfully named her uncle and Mayor became her guardian. She was the one who suggested it.”

“How can one be lawfully named someone’s uncle?”

“Apparently one can in France. Or they just made some concessions to a celebrity. Seen weirder things.” He shrugged. “She was also his designer for years now. You remember that mysterious MDC?”

“The one you used to fawn over?” Bruce asked.

“She is brilliant so sue me.” The boy huffed. “Also, it stands for Marigold Désign et Création. She runs an internet boutique where she takes commissions from both commoners and celebrities.”

“What does it have to do with anything?” 

“I’m getting to that. Gee.” 

“Maybe I will get there?” Babs tried to take over. “She’s been working part-time as a babysitter to get funds to buy materials for new clothes and received nothing but praise. She also became a class representative. A successful one at that. She also holds the national championship in U-17 Mechastrike.”

“How is that important exactly?” 

“You wanted to know everything about her B., so we are giving you everything.” Tim sassed

“Just… get to the important parts.” He shook his head. What did he do to deserve this?

“Fine. Her school records are a mess. Skipping that they wouldn’t hold to any official inspection, they straight-up contradict each other.” Tim waved his hand in some undefined gesture. “On one hand, she receives nothing but praise from the teachers, but at the same time, there are multiple bullying reports and even several assaults in here. Most of them were met with harsh punishments.” Tim opened a separate file. “Too harsh according to the school charter.”

“It didn’t help that the letter from her parents also mentioned these kinds of things.” Babs chimed in, trying to regain control of the tale. Bruce just gave an exasperated sigh. He just gave up and allowed them to solve it, mentally already cataloging the information. 

“Except! There were statements from several people that contradicted this. Especially Chloe Bourgeois. She said, ‘Puh-lease! Mari is the kindest doormat in the world. I was mean to her for years and she still welcomed me back with open arms.’ Given her track record, I’m inclined to believe it.” 

“There was also this Drama, capital ‘D’, with MDC stealing designs. Several tabloids caught the wind of it and it even led to the police investigation. Only after Jagged Stone intervened, the thing quickly shut up.”

“Now onto the juicy parts!” Babs smiled. 

“And that was what? An introduction?”

“Yup. She has a certified black belt in two different martial arts, is a master gymnast, has an IQ of over 130 and owns two separate businesses in Paris.” She quickly read. “As we mentioned, she is the honorary lawful niece of Jagged Stone, but also designed for Clara Nightingale, Nadia Chamack, worked with Gabriel Agreste, was offered an internship from Audrey Bourgeois before she became her ward. She was seen hanging out with Kagami Tsurugi, world-renowned fencer, and Luka Couffaine, the rising star under Jagged Stone’s tutelage.”

“That was fast.” Tim summarised. 

“Yeah. Also, she was adopted some nine years ago. She originally comes from Gotham.”

“Do we know her biological parents?” Bruce asked, getting serious.

“That’s where it gets juicy. When I tried to pull out her adoption files, the computer shut down to avoid detection. There is some serious encryption on it. Probably due to who her father is. We got some of it. She described her mother as ‘wearing an outfit that showed more skin than her beachwear’, so we suspect she was a prostitute.”

“Hm… It’s not unheard of. You say she was with her mother until she was eight?”

“Between seven and nine the file said.”

“Hm… Do you think she is a threat?”

“No. But I have a different question. Why didn’t the league investigate Paris’ supervillain?”

“We were made aware of him only recently, after what our satellites mistook for Poison Ivy attack,” Batman said in an irritated tone. The fact that there was a supervillain running around for close to four years completely undetected grated on his nerves. “Diana Prince has been investigating for some time now. She has it under control.”

“The only problem I see is that she is only sixteen,” Barbara pointed.

“I mean I’m barely seventeen and I ran this company for two years now. And don’t act high and mighty. You started playing Batgirl at fifteen.”

“Played?!” She screamed. 

“You wore a hoodie and carnival mask at first.”

This quickly developed into an insults contest until Bruce finally had enough. He just shook his head and left. Alfred silently followed him, carrying a plate of sandwiches. 

-----

The next morning, Mari woke up in her bed, with Chloe and her curled together in a mess of limbs and clothes. Of course, she panicked and jumped up, waking the blonde.

“Honestly, Goldie, five more minutes. I need my beauty sleep!” She murmured.

“Um… Why are we in one bed?”

“Because you fell asleep hugging me yesterday and refused to let go at any point. I swear I wanted to get a crowbar. Ridiculous!”

“Sorry…” Mari gave her a sheepish smile.

“None of that! You ruined Lila’s face in one punch. Adrien texted me that in the end she lost seven teeth and will require plastic surgery for her nose not to look like a mashed potato.”

“No…!” Her eyes widened. 

“Yup.” Chloe grinned, popping the ‘p’. 

“That’s awful! I can already imagine how much the class will hate me now! And the employees that saw this! There were cameras there!”

“Some people actually applauded you. It could be also because you called Batman an overgrown Furry though…” Chloe’s voice wandered off. Mari collapsed onto the bed, head buried in the pillows.

“Kill me…”

“Can I kill you with hugs?”

“Fine…”

When the panicking bluenette finally calmed down, Chloe got her to sit down and showed her the headlines.

Brave WE employee saves dozens of lives!

A hero without a suit!

Civilian stopped Riddler!

Personal Assistant takes down a dangerous criminal!

They were all overly positive and showed much support. Only one tried to vilify her based on Lila’s comment and her being punched, but it quoted Ladyblog as a reliable source, so it was dismissed. The majority of the comments were also positive. The ‘overgrown Furry’ was already trending too. 

Only one of the articles contained the list of names of people killed in the attack.

Ted Black - a security guard, put himself between the bullet and another employee Sigfried Osborne - a security guard, died when he tried to stop them from entering Molly Bishop - a PR specialist, called the police when she thought the guards were busy Heidi Dickson - a security guard, killed in crossfire Craig Lloyd - an HR employee, wrestled the gun from one of the henchmen before he was shot in the back. Ethel Arson - A lawyer, killed in crossfire Christian Thorn - a security guard, shot two of the riddler’s henchmen in defense of a group of hostages.

Their room had several live plants on the rail. Mari walked to them and allowed her powers to flow. Slowly, the flowers bloomed. She picked seven beautiful flowers and put them on the table.

“Mari… I’m sure they will understand if you don’t come to work today…” Chloe placed a hand on her best friend’s shoulder.

“No… No. I won’t be scared into hiding by Riddler of all people.” She said with determination and some coldness in her voice. She stood up and walked to her suitcase. From there, she gathered a different outfit. Now she would wear a red shirt, a black blazer with the Ladybug logo on her right breast, a black pencil skirt, and black leather ballet shoes (she still hated heels). But the greatest change was her hair and eyes. She let go of her twin pigtails and allowed her wavy hair to run free. It was no longer black, instead turning dark blue with purple highlights. Her eyes also changed. Her bluebell eyes also changed. The iridescent green she used to suppress was now mixed with the normal eye color, giving an entrancing effect that was hard to stop looking at.

“It’s time to rock this place.” She smiled at her best friend.

------- (Play ‘Confident’ by Demi Lovato) --------

Marigold and Chloe entered the Wayne Enterprises in full stride. Flashing her pass, she got them through control without the queue or checking, much to the shock of the class (who still had no idea Mari was now technically their boss). Adrien showed the girls thumbs up. Lila was seething, but neither Chloe nor Marigold paid her any mind and guards didn’t let her follow them and straight-up kicked her to the back of the queue. 

Mari gave a nod to the receptionist, but they didn’t slow down. Elevator was about to close, but one of the employees held it for her. Once they entered, she quickly checked her tablet and the to-do list she had for that day. First stop: PR. Chloe was going to HR to receive a new mentor after… the previous day.

When she entered the Public Relations department, Mari didn’t stop to chat with the employee that looked at her in awe. Her goal was the department’s head office and that’s where she would go. Gently knocking on the doors before entering, she pushed the doors. While she was smiling kindly, her whole posture screamed professional. 

“Hello. Mr. Drake will need the Friday press conference plan adjusted in response to what happened yesterday. There needs to be a mention of the event, as we won’t want to sound too detached. The press would tear us apart. Some gesture to show the public that we care…”

“Maybe a memory board in the lobby? And perhaps schedule Mr. Drake to visit each of the families somewhere next week?”

“I think it will be okay…” For a short moment, Mari allowed her confidence to drop, but she quickly gathered herself and made a note in her calendar. 

“If that’s all…”

“I will also need a press statement no later than by lunch.” She said quickly. “Make it a priority and forward it to me to read before you post it.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The man smiled. Mari was about to leave when he spoke again. “And thank you for yesterday. Many people owe you their lives.”

She stopped in her tracks, unable to say a word. Finally, she regained her composure. “Thank you. I… I’m coping.” 

As she left the office toward the elevator, Lila and Alya, who were interning in that department, tried to speak with her, but she didn’t even spare them a glance. Alya tried to grab her, but she was stopped by one of the older employees. As the elevator doors closed, Mari could see the girls receive a serious scolding. A grin made its way onto her face. Lila and Alya would have a really hard life for the next two months. Especially if she had anything to say about it. 

Her next stop was the security office. She entered it with a neutral expression, but it lasted only maybe five steps from the elevator. She didn’t tear up. She was a Gothamite inside. Right as one walked out of the elevator, there was a small bar, behind which a board was filled with pictures. Some looked really old, black and white or even sepia, while some others were high-quality and new. Roughly half of them were the clean pictures one would attach to a resume. The other half were profile pictures from social media. Or a photo that was taken in the forest. One was even a detailed drawing of a person. There were maybe fifty of them in total.

“It’s a reminder. Guards who lost their lives since the founding of WE” An older man said. “Silas Wayne started the tradition after he served in the Great War. You’re here for something miss?”

“Oh… Yes. The security on Friday press conference. We must increase it by about fifty percent. And make sure that only those with invites can enter.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her.

“Um…” Mari suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. 

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t your fault.” He said in a comforting voice.

“Thank you, sir.” She allowed a weak smile to enter her face before she left. Only two more stops. 

The elevator next took her to the Legal Department. She had many things that needed to be done here. Chloe met her as soon as she exited the elevator. Mari managed to regain her professional posture and once more emanated the aura of confidence. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up, but she was determined to show that she was okay. 

“I already forwarded your requests. At first, Madame McKinsley was reluctant, but apparently, our entrance is already the top corporate gossip. Good job Mari-bear.”

“Good. Thanks, Chlo. Now get back to work before someone sees me get friendly with an intern. I have a plan.” Before they separated, Marigold let a smile ghost her face. “One more thing. You’re free to unleash the foxes of war.”

Chloe lit up at that. Her whole demeanor changed to almost beaming light. She immediately started planning. Mari left her to the devious scheming and instead went to McKinsley office. The head of the Legal Department was a middle-aged woman with short, slightly graying brown hair and no-nonsense composure.

“Miss Bourgeoise informed me of your visit. I already had several documents prepared, but I will need clarification on several things.” She offered the young PA a chair, but Mari refused with a shake of her head. She opened her tablet and started to go through the list.

“First of all, the video that caused the attack was leaked by an intern. What actions exactly can be undertaken in response?”

“There are several options. We could terminate their contract entirely, but as it’s their first offense, it could’ve been seen as too harsh. It would also require to terminate all internships.” The woman was clearly unamused by the situation. Mari just raised her eyebrow and gave her a quizzing look.

“I’m not sure who in their right mind wrote their contracts, but when I track them down they are gonna get their ass demoted to toilet cleaner. It’s one big mess.”

“Don’t I know it…” Mari deadpanned. “So, other options?”

“We can move them between departments, so having them demoted to Toilet cleaners could also work, but it’s not exactly a legal punishment. The fact that it was Riddler really threw a wrench in any legal proceeding as he is clinically insane and the video was not directly calling him out and only speaking about him. I could give you the legal mumbo-jumbo, but the gist is that they are somewhat protected.”

“What about revoking their privileges?”

“Take that to HR.” 

“Will do. Now, about the next matter.”

“It was much easier. She can’t do anything to you, not even forward the bill. You were in shock and there are several recordings showing her taunting you. If she pushes it, she will lose. You’re a public hero right now. Good job by the way.”

“I was only doing what had to be done.” Mari brushed it, doing her best to keep a professional face. 

“Sure…” It was clear that McKinsley did not believe her.

“Now about the last thing?”

“Ah. The slander. I already directed it to our French and Italian departments, but it’s slow-going. That witch made it an international case. It will definitely bite her, but we have to be patient.”

“Brilliant. Thank you for your time.” Mari left the room with a grin on her face. Now onto the HR.

As she strode through the floor, people turned their heads to look at her. In the killing outfit, she looked older than she was and the aura of confidence and professionalism made her seem like a powerful woman. They had no idea just how powerful she was, but the way she carried herself was enough to make them shake in their shoes. 

----

When the doors of the elevator opened, Juleka and Rose were waiting for her. Both looked furious. Before either got a chance to say anything though, Marigold silenced them with a murderous glare that took away their voice. She strode past them looking fabulous. Any other employee removed themselves from her path to avoid her ire. The rumors were already circulating and the fact that she took down Riddler before Batman even arrived did wonder to her image. 

“Hello. I had an appointment.” She said when she entered the head of the department office. 

“Yes. Miss Dupain-Cheng. I was told you forwarded a list of topics, but an intern lost it.”

“Was this intern from my class?” She asked in a cold voice.

“Um… Yes actually.” The woman said after checking a small post-it.

“Then it was probably sabotage.” Mari spat the words. “I asked to have a list of possible punishments in regards to the newest intern group prepared. Two of them were responsible for the leak. Sadly, as one of them is the class representative, she is quite popular.”

“Ah. Well…”

“First of all, both Alya Cesaire and Lila Rossi are to have all possible privileges revoked for breaking the rules. They leaked or were involved in the leak of video. Neither of them is to be handed anything more important than refilling a stapler or bringing someone coffee, to ensure they are no further threat to this company. They will also receive an official warning and an entry to their acts. They are also restricted to the lower floors. If possible, I want their access to electronic devices restricted. Maybe assign them a pager each so it doesn’t negatively impact their work.”

“Hm… I will see what can be done, Ma’am.” The woman replied, already going through her notes.

“Good. Onto the next business, while it pains me to do it so fast, we need to hire more security as soon as possible. But make sure to triple check their backgrounds.” 

“Understandable.” 

“And the last thing. Why was Damian Wayne allowed to bring a ninjato into the building?”

“There is actually no restriction on bringing swords ma’am. We’re trying to fix it, but we’ve been blocked at every turn even when Mr. Wayne was the CEO.”

“And whose permission is needed?” Mari allowed a small grin.

“Yours would do. Sarah was always too stuck up to even leave her desk unless forced so she didn’t care that much.”

“Consider my permission granted. Forward the paperwork to me.”

“And if Mr. Drake disagrees?”

“He can try.” She said coldly, remembering how close she came to being cut in half.

“Oh…”

“Last thing. When is the top floor scheduled for repairs?”

“It should be done already. It was made to withstand an assault from a much larger force, so we only had to replace the furniture. Following the instructions that were left, we repotted the plants into bigger and more decorative pots. As per your request, we added some more plants.”

“Thank you. Plants always calm me down.”

“I prefer cat pictures.” She pointed at the wall where a cheesy calendar with a cat giving her thumbs-up was hanged. It took all of Marigold’s willpower not to burst into laugher at the image of Chat Noir posing for such a calendar.

“Good. Thank you.” With that, she left. This time, Rose and Juleka did not try anything. They were too terrified of her. 

Elevator took her all the way to the highest floor. When she exited, the floor was back to perfect condition and several more plants were awaiting her. She promised them silently to check on them soon and went to the main office. She knocked several times on the doors, but nobody answered. Hesitantly, she pushed the doors open, but no one was in the office. After double-checking with security, it turned out that Tim Drake did not show to work. She sighed. Looks like more work for her… Just like Nathalie said.

----

NEXT

[the-alice-of-hearts]

Kids Again Ch 2

Ch 2: He likes to keep his burner on

First Next>

Marinette would always remember the first time she looked through her romantic Soulmate’s eyes. She was five years old when she started crying in the middle of the day in maternelle. Nino ran to get the teacher while she gasped, trying to form her feelings into words. Her parents came to pick her up and her maman held her while she cried. When she was able to tell them what she saw, they held her close.

Her papa told her that her Soulmate must have been even more scared than she was, but that she could help look over him.

Her maman said that she wasn’t responsible to be the one to save him, that the people who were responsible for this had a duty to take care of him. She also said she didn’t have to sacrifice her own life for his.

Her maman told her that if she showed him kindness and love, the universe would make sure that they could meet one day. Marinette kept that in her heart every day. She wanted to show her soulmate that the world could be a brighter place than the dark place he lived in. She lived every happy memory to its fullest, and every night she sent a prayer into the sky; asking her guardian spirits to watch over her soulmate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Marinette was nine, she woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. She saw through her soulmate’s eyes as he got stabbed, but even after that stopped, even as he passed out from the pain, she still felt emotions coming from her soulbond. She felt like she was watching someone die right in front of her. She was frozen in terror, knowing she could do nothing to change it. She didn’t go back to sleep that night, instead, she grabbed her sewing kit and started to take the pink applique flowers off her only black dress. She then went to work on making a veil. She also found the blue dress that she had worn to her great-grandfather’s funeral. She wasn’t sure what you were supposed to wear to a funeral for your soulmate’s family, but she wanted to be ready to get dressed in the morning.

When her mother came to wake her up in the morning she shifted her gaze up to her from the floor. She had sat there to write in her journal. She opened her mouth and asked her mom the important question she needed an answer to, “Maman, can you have more than one soulmate?”

______________________________

Sabine looked around her daughter’s room when she saw the dresses Marinette was sitting next to, “It does happen. What did you see Bǎobèi?” ((mandarin: baby))

Marinette shook her head, “I didn’t see it, mama. I just felt like I was watching someone really important to me die. I can still feel the link though, so it couldn’t have been my soulmate. But I didn’t see it, I just felt it... Could I have a platonic soulmate too?”

Sabine scooped her daughter up into her arms, “You could. I think it’s very possible you do.” Marinette started crying, “Shhh, it’s okay sweetheart.” She adjusted her grip on Marinette so she could move to sit them both onto her fainting couch. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She sniffled nodding, “what do you wear to mourn someone you aren’t related to?”

“In China, you would wear a dark color to the funeral of the death of a loved one who you aren’t related to. But not black. You only wear black for your parent’s or husband’s funeral. In France, you can wear black if you want to, but any dark color is okay. If you follow your gut feeling where does your platonic soulmate live?”

Marinette furrowed her brow, “I don’t know māma, I can’t see them.”

Sabine smoothed Marinette’s hair down, “Did your heart say somewhere when I asked you?”

Marinette nodded, “America. I thought about America… but I also thought about Paris…”

She looked at her daughter in contemplation, “Meiyun, do you remember how I taught you to meditate?” Marinette nodded, “I want you to meditate with me, but I want you to focus on your soul link. Can you do that for me?”

Marinette nodded. She sat up and got into a relaxed position. Taking in a deep breath she closed her eyes. After a few moments, Sabine started talking to her, “When you breathe in I want you to gather up all your emotions, and then, as you breathe out, let them flow to the background of your mind.”

Marinette smiled, “Like music?”

She smiled at her daughter, “Exactly like music. Let your feelings be the beat of the song, and look for the melodies of your soulmates.” She watched Marinette breathe and then start to hum.

Sabine’s older sister had been a part of a multibond and she knew it ran in the family, but she wasn’t sure how she would be able to help her daughter. Her soulmate died when she was a girl, they were a platonic bond and she hadn’t even met them. Tom’s soulmate bond was also platonic. He had met him once and they were pen-pals, but their friendship had never gotten that close. When Marinette was born she had a spark in her eyes that Sabine knew was pointing towards a difficult journey for her daughter. When she started to see through her Soulmate’s eyes Sabine knew she was right. She looked at her little girl, so young and yet so strong. Her sister had the same strength when she was young, Sabine just hoped that her daughter wouldn’t follow the same path. When Marinette opened her eyes Sabine waited for her to talk, her daughter was young, but, when it was something important, she always tried to figure out what she was going to say before speaking.

“There are three other melodies. So if I include my own that makes four. My song and Jay's are really close, but the other two are a little lower? They are as close to each other as ours are though.”

Sabine smiled at her, “It sounds like you have two platonic soulmates, and that they are romantic soulmates. Multibonds are rarer in the world, but they happen more often than most people think. My sister had a multibond too, she had four soulmates total. That just means that you have a lot more love to give, and a lot more love to receive.”

Marinette nodded at her, “So I could find one of my Soulmates here in Paris?”

Sabine scooped her daughter up in her arms, “You might sweetie, but unless all four of you are together you might never know.”

Marinette tilted her head in confusion, “but why?”

Sabine smiled and booped Marinette on the nose, “soulmates have a spark when they meet each other. It’s your soul saying ‘you did it! You found my other parts!’ but that can’t happen until all the pieces of your soul are together.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, Marinette learned how to pick out each of the distinct ‘voices’ of her soulmates. She knew when her platonic soulmates were hurting.

Each year her soulmate from America would mourn the same loss, her soulmate from Paris would have days where they would be filled with so much sadness and loneliness, and her Soulmate would have days where he couldn’t eat or would be running for his very life.

When her Paris bond started having the same hunger pains she got worried. She was used to the pains coming from Jason, knew exactly what they felt like and how long you went without proper nutrition before the pain kicked in.

She started reaching out to those around her, making sure that everyone she interacted with knew she was a person they could turn to.

She made herself known as someone who cared deeply about her friends.

When Chloé started being mean to her she spoke only kindness.

When Kim and Alix got into a fight she was there to hear both sides and help them see the other’s point of view.

When Nino got overwhelmed she sat quietly by his side so he knew he wasn’t alone.

She did everything she could for her friends because she was fighting the feeling that she could do nothing for her soulmates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was 11 when she learned all about the Gotham vigilantes.

She had some memories of Jason on the streets where he hid from Batman and had heard him talk about him, but she had never seen him.

Until she checked in Jason when he was caught in the middle of taking the tires off the batmobile. She hadn’t meant to look through his eyes, she was just very tired. When she closed her eyes for a little too long the soulbond drew her to him. She giggled when he was spooked in the middle of taking off tire number 4. She was worried when she felt his burst of fear when the vigilante placed him in the back of the batmobile. She watched him scared when he was taken to the bat-cave, heard him plead not to be taken to the cops. He sobbed telling the vigilante that he would rather die than go to the foster care system.

“Marinette, earth to Marinette.” Alix was waving their hand in front of her face, “you want to come back to Paris?”

“Huh? Oh!” Marinette jumped back. She looked around at her trio of friends.

“Dudette, what happened?” Nino reached out to hug her, then added in a soft voice, “you were laughing and then got this look of panic on your face.”

Kim was sitting behind the two of them, with Marinette by the wall she could see that the three of them had formed a barrier of sorts. She could see him watching to make sure that no one tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“It was really funny, he tried to steal the tires off the batmobile.”

Kim started to laugh at that, “no wonder you looked panicked. Did he get caught by the bat?”

Marinette bit her lip trying not to cry, nodding at Kim, “He did. He was so scared.”

That shut him up real quick, “Mari, look at me.” Kim reached out a hand, “Jason is going to be okay. You know he will, he’s been in tougher spots before.”

Alix scooched closer to her to lay against her shoulder, “not like he hasn’t gotten out of worse scrapes before. Didn’t you say he took down two guys with guns like last week?”

Marinette giggled and rubbed her eyes, “yeah, but they aren’t batman.”

Nino had been looking up any information about the vigilante he could find, “Netté, it says here that he has a strict no-killing policy and a soft spot for kids. Jason could beat the shit out of him and he still wouldn’t hurt him.”

That got a loud laugh from them.

“M. Lahiffe, do you have something you want to share with the class?”

They all snapped to attention, “No Ma’am.”

Their teacher nodded, “Then might I request that you all return to silent study time.”

_____________________________________

After school, they all ran to the bakery. It was a long-standing tradition to lay around Marinette’s living room and eat snacks while they did homework. Alix was throwing a paper ball into the air while Kim checked over their math assignment.

“I don’t know why you have me check, it’s not like I’m the best at math.”

“You are in this group. Nino is our french lit. guy. Mari can check over English assignments. I have History, you have maths. And then we struggle with science and geography as a group.”

“Hey! I’m good at geography!”

Alix threw their paper ball at him, “then you should have volunteered to check my geography assignment.”

Marinette interrupted the start of an argument that would become a bet that would lead to her cleaning up the mess, again. “Alix, you have to stop using so much slang in your English assignments.”

“Why? You do, I’ve seen your papers.”

“I use common slang, you’re using the slang that I’ve picked up from Jay. He uses a lot more regional slang. And you know our teacher has given you marks off for it in the past.”

“Not my fault that he didn’t understand my essay.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “haven’t you ever heard of writing to your audience?”

Kim laughed at her, “Mari, you sound just like Nino!”

She stuck her tongue out at him, “at least I’m not the one teasing my foreign language tutor before she checks over my work.”

“You wouldn’t!” he turned on the full puppy eyes, “please Mari, you know I would fail without you.”

“Yeah, I know. Hand it over I finished Alix’s.”

They sat there for a while, each finishing their assignments and then checking over the other’s work. Quiet afternoons spent above the warm bakery always lulled them into a peaceful state. The soft sounds of writing and the speaker in the kitchen playing one of Nino’s new study playlists. Marinette always loved these moments when she felt so loved; surrounded by her best friends, able to hear drifts of the conversations on the street below. Moments like these were feelings she cherished, images that she engraved into her mind. Opening her small pink journal she started writing to Jason. She wanted to tell him everything about her life, so until she could see him in person she wrote to him.

Nino was the first one to break the gentle silence, “Netté, why do you think he was so scared?”

Alix and Kim both looked up from where they were doing the maths homework. With all their gazes on her she knew she had to say something, “he doesn’t want to go into the foster care system.” She took a deep breath and started to doodle on the corner of her page, “he, well he knows some kids who have been in the system. It’s really corrupt in Gotham. A lot… a lot of foster care parents are bad people. They abuse their wards and get the money from the system. Older kids get it worse, a-an-and he’s 13 now. S-s-so he would ha-ve a harder time getting a good family.”

She had started crying and was now quietly sobbing. Kim moved closer and picked her up to hold in his lap. Nino and Alix moved closer to join the group hug.

After she had calmed down enough to talk Alix asked her, “Mar, why don’t you try to check in on him?”

She sighed, whipping her tears away, “I tried earlier during lunch, I think he was asleep though.” She bit her lip, “I could try again maybe, but he seems calm now. What if I just worry him more?”

“It’s up to you Netté. We are here to support you, not tell you what you should do about your bond.”

She nodded, “I think I’ll wait then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next two years, she learned a lot more about Gotham’s heroes vigilantes. Jason was the new Robin. His new brother was the first Robin, now he had a new alias Nightwing. Bruce Wayne is Batman was a huge secret that was dropped on her. One that her three closest friends knew too. They had been sworn to secrecy, but she couldn’t not tell them.

They were her small family, and if she wasn’t going to tell her parents then she was going to tell them. Sure, his identity needed to be protected. But what harm could four people from halfway across the world do? She started collecting news clippings of Robin. Each time he helped someone and they caught him on camera. The kids around the blocks he patrolled being in awe of the kid in the bright colors who would help anyone who needed it. She got to see him splitting off from patrol to take food to a building he knew had people living in it.

Then came the other good moments. His butler, who was more grandfather than employee, taught him how to cook. His new father, the adoption papers went through really fast, enrolled him in school. Bruce saw how much Jason liked to read and put a couple large bookcases in his room. Then bought him different books that he thought might interest him. He was trying, but things were still awkward sometimes. His brother, Richard but people called him Dick, was in the circus before becoming a Wayne. He taught Jason to use his natural dexterity to flip around attackers, telling him that a moving target was harder to hit. The robin colors made you easy to see, so you had to be fast and think on your feet. If you never stopped moving then they couldn't hit you.

Marinette asked her parents if she could continue her gymnastics classes. They were only a little surprised. She had taken a break when her soulbond had gotten to be too much, but knowing that he was safe meant she could focus on herself again.

That started with being fast and nimble and getting herself ready for when she ran the streets with him. She spent hours redesigning the Robin suit and making herself a hero persona. She had decided on Nightingale as a name and designed her suit in black and orange. She made her design a partner to her redesign of Jason’s Robin suit. She knew they were going to be partners, so they needed to match.

She just wished that she could be there with him now. Running the rooftops by his side, helping him, making sure he makes it home.